The 99th Divorce

Ou Ming did not accept the jacket. He raised his arm to fend the jacket off. The down jacket fell unceremoniously onto the couch as he ordered, “Yu, give me your jacket.”

When Shen Zhilie witnessed that, he laughed and asked, “Ou Ming, can you see me?” With that, he waved five fingers in front of Ou Ming’s face. “You’re really blind?”

Ou Ming was the one at the receiving end of Shen Zhilie’s taunts, but Yu Lili’s heart felt extremely unsettled. She reached out and gave Shen Zhilie a tug. She lowered her voice and said, “Enough. Ou Ming is blind now. Don’t bully him.”

When Shen Zhilie heard that, his eyes froze over. As if he didn’t have any other choice, he picked his jacket off the couch and put it on Ou Ming.

Ou Ming’s face instantly soured. He pushed back hard, warning, “Don’t touch me.”

Shen Zhilie took the opportunity to take a step back. He looked helplessly at Yu Lili and shrugged. “I didn’t bully him. Now, it’s the blind man who’s bullying me, not the other way around.”

Ou Ming stuck his hand out as if he were reaching for Yu Lili.

Shen Zhilie suddenly stood between them. “Why are you sitting here without any proper clothes? Aren’t you cold? You’re in this state, and you’re still in the mood to come on a vacation? Isn’t your mom worried about you?”

Although Shen Zhilie’s tone was calm, and every word he had uttered was filled with concern, all Ou Ming heard was humiliation and provocation.

Ou Ming clenched his jaw. With a somber expression, he calmed himself down before saying, “Shen Zhilie, what are you doing here?”

“I’m here with Lili.” Shen Zhilie’s smile could be heard in his voice. But, hidden within that statement was also a hint of triumph and provocation.

“I see. You’re here to help, then?” Ou Ming stood up. Under Shen Zhilie’s surprised gaze, he picked up Shen Zhilie’s jacket and wrapped it around himself. “I’ve gone hungry for a long while. Take me for a meal.”

Ou Ming’s expression was much calmer than it had been moments before. Such at attitude was beyond Shen Zhilie’s expectations of him.

He looked at Ou Ming with interest. With both hands shoved into his front pockets, he asked, “What do you want to eat?”

“Yu Lili, what do you want to eat?” Ou Ming asked.

Yu Lili was startled by the sudden mention of her name. It took her a moment to respond. “Aren’t you the one who has gone hungry the whole day? I’m not the one who’s hungry.”

“Let’s go, then.” Shen Zhilie tugged on Ou Ming’s clothing. “Since none of you know what to eat, then let’s have some Chongqing hot pot.”

“No, that’s too spicy,” Yu Lili said.

He had gone on an empty stomach for the whole day. He couldn’t eat such spicy food. Plus, his stomach had always been weak. If he were to ingest something so spicy, his stomach wouldn’t be able to take it.

Yu Lili blurted her thoughts out without thinking. After hearing herself speak them aloud, something didn’t feel right.

Shen Zhilie looked over at her and said earnestly, “It’s alright. My stomach has gotten much better.”

When Yu Lili heard that, she knew that Shen Zhilie must have misunderstood something. She was still more than happy to play along and chuckled in reply, “Still, you can’t eat that. It’ll make your stomach worsen again.”

The smile on Shen Zhilie’s face reached his eyes. He nodded his head. “Alright, then. I’ll listen to you.”

This exchange was destined to result in someone happy and someone not.

Listening to the ambiguous tone of their conversation, Ou Ming clenched his jaw, straightened his back, and focused his attention of them.

Shen Zhilie noticed Ou Ming’s slight reaction but continued to pretend he was clueless. “Let’s go for some Cantonese cuisine then. It’ll be easier on the stomach.”